


saw a modest dream

by GlitterDwarf



Series: SV Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-04 23:04:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4156308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterDwarf/pseuds/GlitterDwarf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: AU - Roommates</p>
<p>Jared would remember for years to come the look Richard gave him then. It was like a light was switching on in his brain, a light that couldn’t be dimmed or hid. It was budding hope, and, if there had been a mirror, he would have seen it in his own eyes, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	saw a modest dream

The final meeting of the day with Gavin was finally complete, at 9 P.M. of all times. Jared rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand as he entered the nearest cafeteria, thinking about the traffic that awaited him on his way home. At least there wouldn’t be a line for the espresso machine at this time of night.

Out of the corner of his eye, a small movement. He stopped in his tracks, then turned his eye. When nothing else happened he kept going; maybe it was just some of the dots from rubbing his eyes too roughly.

But then, another movement, this time accompanied by a crash and a moan. Definitely not his eyes. Jared put his messenger bag on the nearest counter and rushed to where the sound had come from.

He rounded the corner to enter one of the lounges, then looked over the edge of the only couch that didn’t face the doorway. There, curled in a tight ball on the ground, was a random Hooli employee that he had never seen before. He looked up at Jared with wide, frightened eyes and clutched his laptop to his chest. He looked, quite frankly, disheveled; his hoodie was oversized, his curly hair was sticking up in haphazard directions, and his jeans were quite wrinkled. If he didn’t have a few days of stubble he would almost look like an oversized teenager.

So a programmer, then.

“Hello,” Jared said slowly as he walked to the other side of the couch. He squatted, trying to get on the level of the other man. “I’m sorry to have to ask, but do you have clearance to be here after hours?”

“Oh, well, probably not,” the other man stammered. He was flushed red and sitting a little awkwardly, but Jared could tell that, if given the chance, he would not look quite so jumbled. He actually reminded Jared a lot of the Sandhill Crane. He looked around and saw, to his dismay, that there were an unusual amount of duffel bags in the room.

“Are you trying to live here?”

The other man bit his lip and looked away. “Well you see, I tried to get in this one house, but they didn’t like my app idea but they liked my old roommate’s, so he’s in there and I’m not, and I don’t make enough at Hooli—not that I’m complaining! I like this job—so for now I’m…” He trailed off and looked over at Jared, finally making eye contact. “I’m sorry, I just don’t have anywhere to go for now.”

“You can stay with me,” Jared said way too quickly, which was very confusing and probably very frightening to the programmer? The other man frowned; probably frightened, then.

“You don’t even know my name. I could be a murderer or something,” he mumbled. This was a very good point. The programmer shifted the laptop in his arms so that he could reach a hand out. “I don’t know your name, either. What is your name?”

“Oh! I’m Don—um, I’m Jared.”

“Okay, Don Jared,” the other man said with a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you. It’s uh, well, it’s rare to meet somebody who would take a chance on an unknown stranger or whatever. I mean, I guess you know I work here? But besides that I could be, well, anybody. I’m rambling on. I’m sorry, I do that sometimes.”

Jared wished that he could cover up his own smile, but it happened too quickly. It was uncanny how much this programmer was his “type,” and it was making his stomach flutter.

“It’s okay, I’ve been told that I’m a good listener.” He paused, then shifted until he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, relieving the burning from squatting so long. “You forgot to tell me your name.”

“Oh! Fuck, man, how are you still talking to me? I’m Richard, Richard Hendriks, and I’m a total fucking idiot, I guess.”

Jared shook his head, but stayed quiet. If he said something it was very likely that he would blurt out something like “no, you’re wonderful!” or “I support you!” or “you shouldn’t just move in with me, you should run away with me, because I hate these meetings and I hate this life and this is the longest, nicest conversation I’ve had in months, and you are very, very attractive, and I have a lot of room but nobody to share it with but I think you could be that somebody, please be that somebody.”

“Well, come on,” Jared said brightly. He stood up and grabbed three duffle bags before Richard could stop him. “We should get you out of here before the security officers find you. Gavin wouldn’t be happy about that.”

“Huh,” Richard said as he followed Jared. “You’re the first person I’ve heard who isn’t, you know, talking about him like he’s the Messiah.”

Jared made a thoughtful noise, but kept quiet. It was best to wait until they were in his car before spilling any company secrets.

The ride home was relatively quiet, as was the dinner. They didn’t speak more than a few sentences until Jared was helping Richard put away his things in Jared’s spare bedroom.

“Um, Jared?”

“Yes?” He closed the drawer he was currently arranging and looked over at his new roommate. He was standing kind of close, which made Jared’s breath catch in his throat.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Oh,” Jared breathed. He shrugged, taking the short beat to get his breathing under control. “I mean, I’ve seen so many people give up if they can’t get funded, or lose their home. You’re the only person who has stayed and kept trying. I guess you believe in your app, more than most people believe in anything, which makes me believe in you.”

Jared would remember for years to come the look Richard gave him then. It was like a light was switching on in his brain, a light that couldn’t be dimmed or hid. It was budding hope, and, if there had been a mirror, he would have seen it in his own eyes, too.

“Oh,” Richard laughed. “That’s, wow. That’s…” He trailed off, and then made a quick, aborted movement until they were hugging. It was awkward, and there was an elbow beneath his ribcage, but it was perfect.

“Thank you,” Richard finally said. Jared just smiled, but in his head he was repeating “thank you, it’s you, it’s you.“


End file.
